


Do I Look Like A Barista to You?

by writewithurheart



Series: Do Over (A Little Different This Time Around) [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Friendship, alternative history, coffee-shop meet, season 3 flashbacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-18
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-04-04 22:31:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4155450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writewithurheart/pseuds/writewithurheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Tommy Merlyn met Felicity Smoak before Oliver even got off the Island. The secret behind-the-scenes story of an epic friendship.</p><p>**companion fic to "Once More (From the Top)", reading both is recommended due to some divergences from canon based on the main fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I

**Part I**

“Excuse me? _Excuse me_! Can I get some service over here?”

She rolls her eyes at the impatient, entitled, arrogant voice coming from down the counter and focuses once more on the lines of computer code scrolling down the cash register screen, searching for the one line of broken code. Blindly, she lifts the iced coffee and pulls the straw into her mouth. She should have charged Jeff more than just a month of free coffee for fixing his cash register _again_ when he should just replace the damn thing. Although, at this rate, she’ll never pay for coffee the whole time she’s in college so she can’t really complain.

“YO! Can I get some coffee here!”

She finds the broken line and quickly fixes it, running the program in a separate window to verify that it’s working. Well, at least the program is running. The computer, on the other hand...She’s probably going to need to dismantle and clean thoroughly before it runs like it’s supposed to.

“Hey! Emo chick! There’s a paying customer over here who would like some coffee!”

Felicity’s head jerks up with an irritated glare that pins the boy to his spot, his blue-grey eyes narrowing in annoyance too. She purses her lips and leans on the counter. She was never much of a clothes person, but thanks to her mother, she knows what expensive clothes look like. And based on the blue silk shirt and stylized messy hair, Pretty Boy probably has a massive trust fund.

“Do I look like a barista to you?” Felicity demands, pointing at her black clothes, hair, dark make-up, and piercings. No one could really mistake her for the brightly-colored employees Jeff hired.

He scowls at her sass. “You _are_ standing behind the counter at the cash register.”

“So you assumed I was here to serve you coffee?” She asks icily, frostiness dropping a couple degrees cooler at his continued arrogance. “Do you often make assumptions like that, Pretty Boy?”

He looks somewhat chagrined, but he holds his ground. “Look, I just need a cup of coffee. Black, or whatever will get me the most caffeine.”

She stares at him impassively. It’s not her job to fetch people coffee. Nope. That’s where she draws a very _very_ fine line. Not that there’s anything wrong with the job. She just absolutely refuses to do any sort of job resembling her mother’s in the casinos. That’s why she’s at school. She’s not about to be moved to change her mind because Pretty Boy needs a quick caffeine fix.

He groans, anger leaving him as he falls onto the stool and lifts softer, sad grey eyes to hers. “Please.”

It’s the whispered plea that gets to her, matched with the world-weary, sorrowful eyes. She recognizes that look. Her mom had it after her dad left, and she’s seen it in the mirror far more often than she cares to admit. She sighs and glances around for Jade. She’s supposed to be working right now. It’s that weird lull time that hits at 1:30pm-ish. They don’t serve lunch so there’s rarely people present, which is why Felicity came now to fix the computers.

Of course, she can’t find the lazy employee or Jeff for that matter. She glances at the defeated man now resting his forehead on the counter. Rolling her eyes at her own bleeding heart, she grabs two hot cups and pours herself and the stranger another coffee.

She walks around the counter and climbs onto the stool next to Pretty Boy, placing his coffee down with a clunk. He looks up at the cup and then back at her, brows furrowed in confusion. She purses her lips and waits for the pompous response, the resurgence of his arrogance as his earlier look was revealed to be an act. She was duped.

Instead, he surprises her by nodding and taking a long sip before, setting the cup on the counter. “Thank you.” His voice is rough and deep, sad. It continues to tug on her heartstrings as she tries to pull herself back from caring. “I’m sorry. For yelling earlier.”

She nods, sipping her own coffee as her eyes stare out the window without seeing anything. After a moment of silence, she asks, “You want to talk about it?”

He glances at her in surprise. “I thought only bartenders asked that.”

She snorts, shaking her head. “What bartender do you know who does that?”

“I don’t know,” he responds with a shrug, staring deadly into space.

The silence settles back, comfortably this time, like a warm blanket. But internally, Felicity’s mind is full of whirling possibilities. Firstly, where the _hell_ were Jade and Jeff? Secondly, why was she sitting here drinking coffee with Pretty Boy? Did she enter a parallel universe where she wears bright clothes and has her mom’s blonde hair?

Pretty Boy interrupts her crazy thoughts. “It’s my best friend.” He sighs, staring at his coffee cup as he spins it in his hands. “He was in a boating accident. Everyone says he’s dead, but I don’t believe it. I came here because some guy online told me he could track him down.”

She winces at the seediness of the offer. He must be as desperate as he looks if he came here just for that.

He chuckles and nods. “Yeah. Too good to be true. I know. I’m not stupid, despite what my father thinks. I just figured I could get him to watch his bank accounts, email accounts, and all that.”

He stills all his fidgeting, staring into the cup like the contents could show him the future. “His funeral was a week ago. There was no body...but...” He takes a deep breath. “His mother and sister needed closure, but he’s not dead. I can feel it in my bones.” His hands clench into fists, landing on the counter for emphasis.

Felicity knows the feeling. She knows her father’s out there somewhere, but he was never actually declared dead. She and her mom never talked about it, but they both believed he was out there somewhere, probably moving on with his life.

She shouldn’t do this. Oh, she knows what she’s about to do is stupid as hell. She should just nod and let this stranger walk away. They should never be more than that, but she can’t walk away from someone who’s hurting so much.

She sighs. “I need a name, picture, and every account he has. If he’s alive, I’ll find your friend.”

He stares at her, mouth frozen open in shock. She can pinpoint the exact moment he decides to trust her. Her eyes turn steely with determination as he reaches for his wallet. “You can’t tell anyone about this.”

She shrugs, not seeing the big deal. “Who would I tell?”

He deliberates for another moment before pulling the picture from the wallet and handing it over. “I want you to find Oliver Queen.”

...

Tommy Merlyn watches as she puts the pieces together, figures out who he is. She’s an interesting character. She’s terrifying looking: all black, spiky silver jewelry, and glares. But there’s something about the blue light playing in her eyes. He wonders if she can actually do what she claims with computers, but it’s not like she can do any damage.

She leans back in her chair, looking him over carefully. “You’re Thomas Merlyn.” She contemplates him, tilting her head to the side as she purses her lips.

He waits for her judgment. This always happens. He gets sized up all the time by girls, their boyfriends, parents, his father. Sometimes it works for him. Other times, he falls short. Honestly, he doesn’t which way this is going to go because she just keeps surprising him.

Her head straightens once she comes to a decision. “I like Pretty Boy better.”

Tommy can’t help but stare at her in shock once more as he reaches over the counter to grab her laptop and he gets an eyeful of her beautiful ass.

NO, he chastises himself. He’s not here to get laid. He turns his attention back to her and watches her fingers fly across the keys. He leans closer to see what’s going across the screen. It doesn’t make any sense to him – just a sequence of numbers and letters – but she keeps working diligently.

“What are you-“

“Okay, I’m tracking two emails, three phone numbers, and running facial recognition software. If he’s caught on camera, I’ll find him.” She looks back up at him. “Why does he have three phone numbers?”

Tommy stares at the screen in awe. “One was personal, one for hot chicks, and one for girls he didn’t want to talk to.”

She purses her lips in distaste.

“Yeah, Ollie wasn’t the best person, but he’s – he _was_ my best friend.”

Reluctantly, she nods and turns back to the screen. “Did I miss anything?”

Tommy sighs. “Nope. That sounds about right. How did you do that?”

She shrugs, clicking the laptop closed. “I’m a junior at MIT. Top of my class, and I may indulge in a little slightly less-than-legal computer programming...”

“You’re hands-down the hottest hacker I’ve never met.”

She snorts. “Like you’ve ever met another hacker.”

Tommy shrugs and grins at her. She watches him with the same unimpressed stare, like she doesn’t like him. He holds her gaze as the minutes pass. Goth chicks weren’t usually his type, but he likes her spunk and her body is gorgeous.

“Felicity! There you are!”

The girl’s head jerks in the direction of the male voice and Tommy realizes he never even asked her name. She practically melts as she turns to the boy, her voice at least twenty degrees warmer.

“Cooper!” What are you doing here?” She leans forward, resting a hand on his upper arm. She’s flirting, Tommy realizes. No wonder he isn’t getting anywhere. Not that he’s _trying_ to get anywhere.

“Just looking to score some coffee. I can usually get Jade to give me free coffee.” He winks at her and then registers Tommy’s presence. His stance shifts as he grins. “Sorry. Didn’t realize you had a date. I’ll get out of your hair.”

She wilts slightly as he walks over to flirt with a very willing barista who magically appears from the back room. The girl’s eyes follow his motion with evident longing and a sigh escapes her as she collapses into the counter with a ‘why me?’

“He’s an idiot,” Tommy offers, as he hesitantly pats her on the back.

She starts and stares at him, obviously having forgotten he was there. She frowns in confusion.

“For not asking you out,” Tommy clarifies.

She turns a bright red. “Who? Cooper? No. No no no no no. I don’t like Cooper. We’re just friends. Best friends. Well, not _best_ friends, best friends, but friends. We took a computer science class together freshman year. Just friends. See?” She offers weakly, pointing to Cooper whispering in the girl’s ear as she giggles.

Tommy stares at her, wide-eyed. He had not expected that babble from the shrouded-in-darkness chick in front of him. He blinks a couple times and her hands fly up to cover her mouth as her eyes clench shut in embarrassment.

“Oh God! I just babbled out loud to a complete stranger. Just when I thought it was going away...”

Tommy can’t help it. He throws his head back in a genuine laugh, the first in a long time it feels like. He laughs so hard his eyes tear up and everyone stares at him, like he’s a wild animal that just walked in and asked for coffee. He calms down and wipes the corners of his eyes. “You’re adorable. And that is something I have never said to a goth chick.”

She purses her lips and glares at him, but it’s softened by the dancing amusement in her eyes.

He grins. “Thank you, Felicity!”

She gives him that speculative head-tilt again. “For which part?”

“Helping me look for Oliver, making me laugh.” He shrugs. He’s not sure which he means more. “How can I pay you back?”

She leans back. “It’s nothing. The search took like fifteen minutes. It’ll send me a notice if it finds anything. And the babbles are free. Trust me. No charge,” she mutters self-deprecatingly.

A frown twists his face. He’s used to people milking him for money, charging him more than they should because they know they can and he won’t question it. She’s an interesting one. He finds that he doesn’t want to part ways so soon. “You also got me coffee. We _are_ sort of on a date.”

He grins through her glare as he triumphantly sips his up. Her fingers drum angrily on the tabletop. “You do realize I could ruin you in a matter of minutes, right?”

“But you won’t,” he announces confidently.

She cocks an eyebrow.

“Because you like me, Felicity. Not like your crush over there, but as a human being. This – right here – is the start of a beautiful friendship.”

“We’re not friends.”

“Yes, we are. You can’t avoid it now.” He pulls out his phone and snaps a picture of her annoyed scowl and amused eyes. He turns the phone and holds it out to her. “Now, are you going to give me your number or am I going to have to get it out of Cooper, over there? Come on. Felicity! You’re killing my reputation here!”

“I’m not sleeping with you,” she tells him, and Tommy grins.

“We’ll see about that, but that’s not why I want your number. Besides, Cooper keeps glaring at me. Your crush-object is jealous.”

 Her eyes dart to the boy and he quickly turns away. Felicity twists back to Tommy with an appraising look. “So why _do_ you want my number, Pretty Boy?”

“To talk to you. You make me laugh and I haven’t done that enough since Ollie disappeared.” He wiggles the phone in front of her face. “What do you say, Goth Girl? Friends?”

Felicity sighs, staring at the rectangle for a moment before she reaches for it, not realizing how much this is going to change her life.


	2. Part II

**Part II**

“What is that noise?” a low voice grumbles in her hear, pulling Felicity from her warm cocoon of sleep. Gradually, she processes that the high pitch beeping is coming from her laptop across the dark room. She glares at it, not wanting to move.

“Someone turn it off,” Cooper’s roommate grumbles as he rolls over and pulls a pillow over his head to block out the noise. Felicity slides from the warm bed and grabs her laptop, escaping into the hallway before opening the device with an alert flashing on the screen. If she was more awake she would have processed the alert much faster. As it is, she stares at the screen for a second before she gasps and stumbles back in to Cooper’s room to seize her phone.

The other end is already ringing when she finds herself on the floor in front of her computer again.

“Yo! Smoaky! What’s up?” Tommy shouts into the phone over the pounding bass of the club music.

“I found him, Tommy!” She says excitedly.

“What?” He shouts back.

“Oliver, Tommy. I found Oliver.”

She hears the music dim, like a door closed on it. Tommy’s voice is much softer when he speaks next. “Are you sure it’s him?”

“He logged into an email account and tried to send a message. One try. He knew the password. There’s no evidence of hacking.” She pins the phone to her ear with her shoulder, moving through the information as quickly as possible.

“Okay. Where?” His voice is eager and immediately sober.

“Hong Kong,” she answers immediately. “I can send you the exact address.”

“Do it. I can be on a plane tonight.” He pauses. “Want to come with me, Smoak?”

“I have finals, Tommy.” She sighs, knowing he’s nervous and excited at the other end. But she just finished her super-virus and Cooper wants to test it. It’s the next step in their hack-tivism campaign and she wants to be here for it. “Plus, I don’t think Cooper would be okay with me flying around the world with another guy.”

“Okay. I’ll let you know what happens.”

“Go. Bring him back, Tommy,” she whispers to the dead line, hoping he finds the man he’s looking for. He deserves her best friend back.

...

“He’s dead.”

It resonates in his voice, even through the phone and Felicity closes her eyes at the unexpected wave of grief that assaults her. She can hear slurred drunkenness there too. She slides down the wall to the cool tile of the bathroom floor, staring at her unpolished nails where the black polish still clings resiliently in the crevices.

“I’m sorry, Tommy.”

“They were right. They were all right. He’s gone.”

Felicity lifts her eyes to stare at the empty box of blonde hair-dye on the bathroom counter, feeling his pain reverberate in her own empty chest. She chokes out the next words, fighting the lump in her throat. “Cooper...Coop’s dead.” A strangled sob escapes and she’s crying again, just when she thought she’d stopped.

“What?” Tommy asks, alarmed out of his drunken haze.

“Cooper...he was arrested for hacking and he hung himself. He’s gone and it’s all my fault.” The tears overwhelm her, blurring her vision to nothing. It’s not the truth, but she can’t bring herself to tell the whole thing, even to Tommy.

“Oh god, Felicity. I’m sorry. That’s awful!”

She hiccups in response.

“What will you do now?” He asks quietly. “What do  _we_  do now?”

Felicity takes a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down as she pulls herself up using the counter as a crutch and stares into the mirror, eyes locking on her new blonde hair. She steels herself as she picks up the bright pink lipstick she found at the drug store earlier that day with the box of hair dye. “We move on.”

...

“Holy Smoak! I almost didn’t recognize you with that blonde hair. What did you do?” Tommy asks, staring in bewilderment at the colorful, bright woman that replaced his friend. It’d been six months since he went to Hong Kong. He knew she went through a transformation with Cooper’s death, but...“Have you been body-snatched?”

“Haha,” she responds dryly.

He grins and pulls her into a hug, taking comfort in her presence. “You look beautiful. I’m glad you’re here.”

She squeezes him back, sinking into him and feeling compassion seep from him. “Me too.”

They stand there in the middle of the Starling City airport, holding each other in their shared grief as people mill around them. Until Tommy pulls back and shakes it off with a grin.

“Ready to get the grand tour of Starling from its favorite son?” He grabs her bag and leads her out into the blinding sunshine. After so long in the darkness and the cool, humid air of Boston, the warmth of the California city manages to seep deep into her bones, warming her for the first time since she got the news of Cooper’s death.

She slips her arm into Tommy’s with her own bright smile. “Lead the way, Pretty Boy.”

...

“What do you mean, ‘you can’t come’?” Tommy demands into the phone, twisting away from the hostess stand to speak more privately. He’d already made it to the restaurant when he got her text and of course he couldn’t just take no for an answer.

“I mean, I’m swamped at work. I’m the low man on the totem pole. I have to do all the menial tasks like wiping porn viruses from computers. You’d be surprised how many people look at

porn at work. Or maybe you wouldn’t...”

He smirks at the ever-present babbles that have returned with her new persona. “You have a lunch break, right?” He shoots the hostess a wink as she shifts impatiently.

“At 1. But I need to work through it. I’m sorry, Tommy.” She shuffles something around. “I have to go, Tommy. I’ll see you Friday.”

He frowns at the click that ends the call, turning back to the hostess with a charming smile plastered on his face. “So, Abby, how much would it cost for me to get your food to go?”

...

“I haven’t finished the paperwork yet, Mr. Fowler. I’ll get it to you as soon as I’m do- Tommy!” She actually jumps in her seat as she spins and finds him in her door. “What are you doing here?”

She knows she told him she couldn’t break for lunch.

He holds up his hard-won brown bag with a grin. “You couldn’t come to lunch so I brought lunch to you.” He drops into the seat opposite her as she glances at the stacks of paper surrounding her and then back at the door.

“Tommy, I-“

“Nope!” He declares cheerfully as he clears the desk between them, moving stacks of paper to create a neat, guarded table between them. “Smoak, you’re entitled to a lunch break, and I’m going to make sure you take it and eat well. I could always talk to the big lady in charge, if you want...”

Felicity groans, rolling her eyes at the offer. It happens a couple times every week and they both know he’s not serious. Felicity would die of embarrassment if Tommy ever talked to Moira about her. Plus, a lowly IT monkey is definitely not work the CEO’s time.

Tommy winks and pulls out the two boxes. “Chicken Marsala or Shrimp Scampi?” He’s been smelling the meals since he left the restaurant. His stomach started growling the minute he got in the car.

She sighs and grabs the utensils from the middle of the table, holding out a hand. “Surprise me.”

He hands her the closest box, unsure which is which except that they smell delicious, watching as she slowly lifts the lid to reveal her chicken marsala. Tommy opens his own box and digs in happily, savoring the taste of exquisite Italian cooking. He groans as the flavors burst on his tongue and Felicity rolls her eyes again at his display, but nods contentedly in agreement.

“I didn’t know they did take out,” Felicity notes as she leans back in her chair to survey him.

He shrugs. “They don’t.”

“Really, Tommy?” She sighs.

“Just enjoy your food, Smoak.” He gets it: She doesn’t like that he flaunts his wealth She doesn’t care, which is exactly the reason he likes to splurge and spend money on her. She’s a good friend and this is the only way he knows to pay her back for everything she’s done.

She shakes her head with a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “You’re lucky I like you so much, Thomas Merlyn.”

...

“Dance with me!”

Tommy can’t help but grin at the tipsy blonde trying to drag him out onto the crowded dance floor. She tugs his arm to pull him from the bar. He doesn’t know what’s up with him lately. He’s the billionaire playboy who doesn’t find any interest in taking different girls home every night anymore. He’s been sitting at the bar all night and the only woman to snag his attention is the blonde in front of him, purely platonically, of course...or not.

The tipsy look slips from Felicity’s face instantly, shockingly sober as she stares up at him. “Come on, Merlyn,” she says, voice low and sultry. “We both deserve a good time.”

He groans at her words, realizing just how much he doesn’t care about taking a girl home tonight, but still, he gives up all resistance, letting her pull him from the stool, out into the middle of the floor where she presses against him and suddenly they’re dancing, grinding against each other until he snaps.

She’s drunk and she’s not thinking straight. It’s the only explanation he can think of for why she’s pressed against him like that when she’s never felt that way about him before. And shockingly, as hot as his friend is, this isn’t turning him on right now.

That’s how he knows, he has problems: his hot, best friend is coming on to him and he’s not even a little turned on.

Felicity turns to wrap her arms around his neck, successfully plastering their fronts together. Before he can react, she’s leaning in and pulling him down for a kiss.

Part of him wants to want this, to want her. She’s warm and soft in all the right places. He’s been watching eyes follow her around all night in her sinfully tight dress. Any other time he’s sure he would have taken her up on this, would have taken her home without a second thought, to hell with the consequences.

Instead he pulls away from her with a grimace.

Felicity squints up at him with a frown before pulling back and patting him on the chest. “I thought you would be a better kisser, Pretty Boy.”

His mouth falls open at her calm observation.

She pats his cheek as she sways drunkenly, severely out of beat to the music. “It’s okay. I think Laurel will still like you.”

She definitely punched him in the stomach with that. She flounces away, slipping from his grip before he can think to grab her. She’s already dancing with someone else when he shakes himself back to his senses.

He definitely doesn’t like the way the man is staring down at her. She’s clearly far too drunk to be making any sort of decision right now.

The guy grabs her ass and Tommy sees red.

All it takes is one well-placed punch, and Tommy’s shaking the pain from his hand as he pulls Felicity away from the groping lowlife. She makes a noise of protest, but allows Tommy to drag her across the dance floor. She only pulls him back when she notices the door is his destination.

“No! Tommy, I don’t wanna go,” she whines, digging her heels in.

He rolls his eyes and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him so he can get better leverage to pull her along. “I don’t think so, Lis. You’re drunk and it’s time to go home.”

“I’m not drunk. You’re drunk,” she responds intelligently, swaying into him.

“Uh-huh,” Tommy mutters, glancing at the amused bouncer who shakes his head at her attitude.

She frowns at him, tilting her head. “Why are you blurry?”

“Alright. That’s it. I’m taking you home, Smoak. We’re calling this a night.” 

Finally she sighs, collapsing into him. “I’m sleepy.”

“Oof!” Tommy pulls her dead weight into his arms as she passes out on his shoulder. “I really need to work out more if this becomes a habit.”

...

“Did you know this is the first time I’ve gotten so drunk I passed out?” Tommy rolls his eyes as he helps Felicity through the door of her apartment. “I mean, of course I’ve been drunk before, but not that drunk. Or even really had drunk sex. Which was the point of going out tonight, you know?”

He frowns at that as he lowers her to her bed. “You wanted to go out tonight to get laid?”

Felicity falls back on the bed, staring at the ceiling as she nods solemnly. “Yup.” She smiles as she pops the end of the word. “Ever since Cooper,” she grins and plays with his name for a little while,” Coopercoopercooper, Coooo-per. Ever since then, I just haven’t found a guy. And then you punched,” she mines the action,” and now I got no one to take home. And it’s all your fault.” She giggles as she pokes him in the chest, but he just swats her hand away and hands her a t-shirt and sleep shorts that he found her drawers.

“Alright, Lis, time to get changed and go to bed.”

She sighs and reluctantly sits up. “Okay.”

“I’ll just go grab you some water. Oh! Hey! Whoa! How about a little warning next time before you start taking off your clothes?” Tommy quickly shields his eyes from the blonde bombshell who decided that stepping out of her dress with him still in the room was a great idea.

Felicity just giggles like it’s the best idea she’s ever had.

“I’m just...I’ll just go get that water now.” In her kitchen, Tommy shakes his head, wondering when he started treating women like he was actually a gentleman. Probably around the same time he met the blonde down the hall.

When he makes it back to her room with the glass and a couple aspirin, Felicity’s already crawled under the covers, eyes shut.

She looks so innocent like that and Tommy can’t help pulling the covers up around her after depositing everything on the night table. She sighs contentedly and her eyes flutter open to stare up at him.

“Get some sleep, Smoak. You’re headache’s gonna be a bitch in the morning.”

Her words stop him as he turns to walk away. “Stay with me?” It’s the pleading tone that pins him to the spot. “Please?”

He doesn’t want to go home to his dad anyway. It’s not like it’ll hurt him. “I’ll be on the couch.”

“No. Here.” She pats the empty part of the bed next to her, eyes barely open as they start to droop. “I don’t wanna be alone.”

Would it be smarter to insist to stay on the couch? Maybe. It would probably be a better life choice, but Tommy’s too tired to argue and her couch really is not comfortable. The floor would probably be better, so he does what she asks and falls into her bed.

Felicity instantly curls into him, her head resting on his chest. The last thing he hears before drifting to sleep is her whispered voice:

“Thanks for being my best friend.”

Then again, he could have been dreaming.


	3. Part III

**Part III**

_Oooooooh Barracuda!_

Felicity groans at the annoying ringtone, burrowing her face into the pillow before lifting it to glare at the pile of clothes by the door where the sound is coming from. She snuggles back into the blanket and kicks the warm body next to her.

“Get your phone,” she grumbles into her pillow.

“You get it,” Tommy counters, not opening his eyes.

She flips around and squints at him, extricating her arm from the sheet to flick his ear. His eyes peek open so he can glare at her. She smiles triumphantly. “Unless you want me to talk to _Laurel_ on your phone, you should get it.”

That wakes him up further, enough that he props himself up to look at his pants in a heap on the floor across the room. He contemplates it before falling back on the bed. “You could, or you could ignore it. She’s still reeling from what Ollie did to her. It’s been three years and she still thinks everyone’s like him. She doesn’t think I’m any better.”

Felicity scowls and slips out of bed as the phone starts ringing again. She extracts the phone and flips it open as she walks towards the kitchen and her already brewing coffee, perking up her sleepy voice so it doesn’t sound like she just woke up after a night of hot sex with Tommy because, yeah, that’s never going to happen.

“Good morning, Laurel.” She smiles into the phone as she snatches Tommy’s jacket off the floor, rolling her eyes at how his disorganization has managed to infest her apartment. He’s been hanging out with her more often since that night at the club a couple months ago. She thinks it might be pity.

“Who is this?”

Felicity almost sighs at the mistrust in her voice, expected though it is. She reaches for her Tardis-blue Doctor Who mug and pours herself a mug of steaming cup of coffee. “I’m a friend of Tommy’s.”

“So you’re the floozy he’s sleeping with.”

She sets her full mug back on the counter, grimacing at the accusation. Wow, does that girl know how to hold a grudge! Ollie might have been a jerk, but from what Felicity understands Laurel kept taking him back too. She hasn’t met Laurel yet, so she’s trying to reserve her judgment. Laurel is not making it easy. As far as she’s concerned, Laurel doesn’t deserve Tommy.

“Actually, I’m his friend,” she corrects, letting ice seep into her voice. It’s disturbingly easy since it’s so early in the morning. “Besides, if I wanted to sleep with him, it’s my prerogative. It doesn’t give you the right to call me names. We’re both young and single. I don’t see any problem.”

Laurel’s silent on the other end for a beat, long enough that Felicity wonders if she hung up. Finally, she hears. “Just tell him to call me.”

The line clicks and Felicity makes a face at the phone as she tosses it on the counter. She sips her coffee as she frowns at the device, wondering what she did to offend the other woman. They’ve never even met.

“What did she want?” Tommy asks. He’s pulled his pants back on and he yawns as he reaches for this usual mug: Harry Potter for Merlyn the wizard.

“For you to call her back,” Felicity supplies.

He sighs as he sips the black coffee. “Yeah.”

“Are you avoiding her, Tommy?” She lowers her mug and watches him carefully.

He takes his time, watching the brown brew fall from the pot into his mug with intense fascination, as if nothing else ever made so much sense. He goes through the motions, returning the coffee pot, taking a sip, turning to add some sugar to the cup. Tommy leans against the counter to face her, running a tired hand through his hair. “Maybe.”

Well, at least he’s not denying it. And it explains the constant movie nights and clubbing: he’s avoiding his life. “Why?”

“Because I like her, Felicity! I love her and she only sees us as friends. Part of me wishes Ollie was still alive so I could punch him for what he did to her. I don’t know if she’ll ever trust a man again, let alone me: the bastard’s best friend.”

Felicity looks down at the cup in her hand. Their morning coffee-talks usually aren’t this heavy. As different as their situations are, she sort of gets what Laurel went through with the whole boyfriend-dying thing. The rest of it, she doesn’t. She can’t even imagine it.

“Tommy...she’s still hurting. But you are an amazing, compassionate person. If anyone can help her, it’s you. You just have to be patient. Be there for her. Show her you’re serious, about her, about you. That’s how you restore her trust.”

He sighs, resting his mug on the counter and staring down at it sadly. “That means talking, huh? No more late-night hangouts with you, huh, Blondie?”

She smiles softly. “Don’t get me wrong, Tommy. This was fun and all, well,” She grins, “It’s been an adventure! But I can’t take endless nights of partying on top of my job. And you need to face Laurel sooner or later if you really like her. So don’t you get all weird on me, alright? We’re still friends. You just can’t use me to avoid you feelings anymore. Got it?”

She watches his lips twitch as he recognizes the line from the first meeting. “Like we could actually stop being friends.”

Felicity grins even as she remembers Laurel’s accusations over the phone. It’s bittersweet. Tommy’s going to be happy. He’s grown up in the last two years. He’s a good man, and if being with Laurel will make him happy, she’ll let him go.

Because Heaven knows, Laurel isn’t going to trust Tommy’s female friend.

...

“Felicity? Where are you?”

She winces at the semi-drunk shout echoing through the phone as she waits in the elevator, file in one hand. “I’ll be there soon.”

“It’s my birthday, Smoaky! Please tell me you’re not at work on my birthday. You _promised_ you’d be here.”

“I just have one last computer to update, and I’ll be right there,” she lies with a bright smile, even though Tommy can’t see her.

“You better get here soon, Smoak.”

“Yup. See you soon.”

She ends her call with a grimace and exits the elevator on the executive floor. The only sound is the clack of her heels as her eyes swing around the hall looking for signs of life. She plays with the corner of the folder in her hand as she circles Moira Queen’s desk, glancing at the familiar picture of Robert and Oliver Queen in the center of the desk. It’s not the most attractive picture but it was the one plastered everywhere. She can’t help but think of the other pictures she’s seen from Tommy over the last couple years.

“You’re cute,” she mutters to herself as she taps a couple buttons on the computer, programming the results of her search to send directly to her computer as she chats to herself.

Her eyes search the shadows after she finishes, wondering what happened, who was here because it shouldn’t be possible. Ten minutes ago, she got an alert from her two-year-old search, saying Oliver’s biometric code logged into this computer. It shouldn’t be possible. He hasn’t been caught on any other cameras. No facial recognition triggers and he found his way into Queen Consolidated? She’s not buying it. And Tommy’s finally in a good place again.

She sighs. She’s not going to tell him about this. It’s probably nothing, a computer error. That’s it. Right?

...

_Knock knock._

Tommy shifts anxiously from foot to foot as he waits for the door to open, pizza box in hand. Two weeks of barely seeing her, of Felicity giving him the run around while he’s wooing Laurel, but he’s not going to let her run away this time. Besides, he knows she’s in there binge-watching Netflix.

“Felicity, I know you’re in there. Come on! Open up!”

The door opens a crack and she peeks out. With a belabored sigh, she props the door open more, leaning against it as she stares up at him from behind her glasses. “What are you doing here, Tommy?”

“You’re avoiding me.”

“I’m not.”

“Don’t bother, Smoaky! I’m here now and I’m not leaving. What show are we binge-watching tonight?” He brushes past her into the apartment, depositing the food on the counter and turning back to Felicity still in the doorway. He plops the six pack he brought next to the pizza.

She sighs. “I thought you would be with Laurel.”

He cracks open a beer and drops onto the couch as she closes the door. He stares at the now-recognizable Tardis frozen on the TV screen. “I slept with her.”

Felicity falls onto the couch next to him. “So...you two are together? Because I have to tell you that then, you being here makes even less sense.”

Tommy shakes his head with a derisive snort. This is it. This is why he needed to talk to her, his best friend. “Nope.” He grimaces at her head-tilt. “It’s just...she just wants sex. That’s it.”

“I’m sorry, Tommy.” She pats his back, rubbing soothing circles. “What are you going to do?”

He meets her bright blue eyes filled with compassion and wrestles with the tears burning his eyes. He has to turn away because that look is dangerous. He doesn’t _do_ feelings. He plays it up to pick up chicks, but serious feelings? That’s not something he can usually do. He doesn’t want to be that guy anymore though, not with Felicity and definitely not with Laurel, not anymore.

He shrugs. “I don’t know, Felicity. I’m serious about this but she isn’t. I don’t know how to compete with that. I’ve never met such a headstrong girl.”

Felicity snorts.

“No! I’m serious. She’s hell-bent on seeing it as a mistake, a one-time thing even though it was the best sex of my life.”

“Don’t you see the irony here?”

Tommy blinks at her.

Felicity rolls her eyes and moves to face him directly. “Tommy, she’s not at that point yet. She still doesn’t trust you with her heart. If you’re serious, you have to keep earning her trust. You can’t let this stop you because it will just confirm everything she thinks of you. You have to prove her wrong, prove that she can trust you. And even then it might take some more pushing to get her to admit her feelings.”

Tommy takes a long sip of beer, groaning. “Why is love so hard?”

“Because it’s worth it,” Felicity sighs.

He glances at her, noting her longing stare. He reaches out to squeeze her hand with a warm smile. He’s familiar with unrequited love and the heartbreak that comes with it. If he had known his hanging out with her would lead to these feelings, he would have kept his distance a little more. “Is this why you’ve been avoiding me?”

Her head jerks up and she scowls. That’s all he needs to know he made a mistake, a terrible mistake, but Felicity’s not going to let him off the hook.

“What?! No!” She sputters for a moment. “GAH! I’m not in love with you, Merlyn! Get your head out of your ass! You are SOOO arrogant. Like I could ever fall in love with you. Ew! No romantic feelings whatsoever. None. Completely platonic.

“God! Merlyn! Now I have to scrub my brain from that mental image.” She shakes her head to banish the idea. Tommy’s almost insulted.

“Then why are _you_ avoiding _me_?”

Felicity plays with her fingernails and chews her lower lip. It slips out in a whisper, the confession she didn’t intend to make: “Laurel.”

Tommy frowns, thinking he misheard. “Laurel? What?”

“She doesn’t like me. She thinks we’re sleeping together.”

“She hasn’t even _met_ you.”

“But she knows you hang out with a girl who answers you phone at all hours. That’s not going to help your case,” she points out, grabbing his beer to take a sip.

“Felicity, you’re my friend. I’m not going to abandon you.”

“Not for the _gorgeous_ Laurel Lance?”

“Not even for Laurel,” he confirms, frowning at her qualifier, surprised at her wary, disbelieving tone. What has he even done to make her think that was a possibility? “Why would you think that?”

She shrugs, still shifting to avoid his eyes but keeping her voice light and unaffected. “It’s just...everyone leaves eventually.”

“Hey!” Tommy grabs her hand and squeezes it. “We’ve known each other for that? Two years? You’re more family than my own blood. We’re closer than my father and I have ever been. I’m not abandoning you. Ever.”

Felicity blinks quickly, eyes searching the ceiling as if that will deter the tears pooling in her eyelids. Felicity presses her lips together, but Tommy reaches out and pulls her into a close hug, rocking her slightly.

“Shhhhh,” he whispers into her hair. “You’re family, Smoaky: the annoying little sister I never wanted.” He feels her watery chuckle against his chest as she hugs him back. He squeezes her. “I don’t know who hurt you, but I’m not them. I promise.”

She pulls away enough to rest her head on his shoulder, swiping at the wet tracks down her face. Felicity sniffles. “My Dad...he left when I was little. Mom did her best, but my mom...is my mom. She was barely around because she was trying to put food on the table. The hours of a Vegas cocktail waitress aren’t exactly the best for raising a child. Not that I don’t appreciate what she did. It’s just...it didn’t leave much time for her to be a mom.”

Tommy nods. “Yeah. I get it. Look at my dad. He was the best family man, and when my mom died, he went AWOL.” He starts rubbing her arm soothingly to calm her and ground him from the memories. “He left a grieving boy to be raised by servants. The only time he gets involved is to point out what I’m doing wrong. He just stopped being a dad, even when he was there. So I get it.”

He lets them sit in silence and comfort. The moment drags on, seemingly outside of space and time just for that little while, before he circles back to the point that piqued his interest earlier, one that will lighten the mood.

“And how did I not know you came from Vegas?”

She chuckles, seizing the change of subject gratefully. “Not exactly the first thing I tell people.”

“So I bet you know your way around the best casinos.”

“From what I hear, you know that much yourself,” she snickers, elbowing him in the side.

He laughs, feeling his mouth relax and tension drain from his body. They don’t really share stories. They talk a lot but they don’t talk about anything important. It’s all banal details. He’s not used to sharing parts of him, especially the parts involving Oliver. Since Ollie’s death, he doesn’t like to talk about it, but suddenly he wants to. He wants to share that part of his life with her.

“Ollie and I used to go there all the time. It was like a beacon for us: money, girls, drinking. We would gamble, sleep with anyone and everyone, get blackout drunk. And we loved doing it. It was stupid, but we loved it. We got banned from three casinos.”

“Three?” Felicity smirks bemusedly, mirth flickering through her eyes.

“Yeah.” Tommy grins at the memories. “Good times.”

“Only three?”

He narrows his eyes at her. “Only three?” Tommy repeats incredulously. “How many were you banned from? I feel like this is something I should know about. This is important information.”

Felicity grins, smugly, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she sits up straight, tears gone. “Well, Merlyn, there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

Tommy perks up, narrowing his eyes. “How many, Smoak?”

She extracts herself from his embrace and saunters over to the pizza box, helping herself to a slice before turning again. She drops back to the couch with an ear-to-ear grin. She wags her eyebrows at him, but otherwise holds her tongue.

“Come on! Answer the question!”

“None,” she finally admits, but amusement still saturates her voice. “That would imply I got caught.” She winks at him.

He snorts derisively. If he hadn’t met her as an edgy goth, he wouldn’t believe this personality in front of him. “Okay. I’ll bite. What did you do? I mean, it was disorderly conduct for Ollie and me, which is pretty par for the course with the drinking and girls. So...what did Miss Teenage Rebellion do?”

“Counting cards,” she admits with a proud grin. “I got a fake ID and snuck into the casinos while my Mom was at work. She never found out. She probably would have been happy I got a fake ID...probably not about the counting cards bit though.”

“Damn, Smoak! And people call _me_ a troublemaker.” He shakes his head, grin spreading over his lips. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud to be you friend.”

She laughs. “Only you, Tommy. Only you.”

He winks at her, glad they’re back to their normal friendship. He’s missed her presence in his life. She should’ve met Ollie. Oh, he’s sure they would butt heads more than once, but he’s equally certain they could be best friends, playing off each other to get out of trouble. He smirks just thinking about it.

“So what Doctor Who episode are we watching tonight?” He turns back to the TV and then rethinks his statement. “And I blame you for this, by the way. I didn’t know all this nerdy stuff before we became friends. I used to be cool.”

She tries to hide the grin answering his friendly scowl. “Bowties-“

“Are cool, yeah, yeah.” He waves it off and then fixes her with a look of mock horror. “Do you see what you’ve done to me, woman! I’m a nerd!”

Felicity laughs outright and pushes his shoulder good-naturedly, knowing he actually enjoys the show despite his complaints. “We just met Captain Jack Harkness.”

Tommy groans, grabbing a slice of pizza and then deciding he might as well bring the whole box and six pack to the couch. “Have I told you hoe freaky it is to see that guy? He freakishly like my dad, you know, if he has a complete personality transplant.”

“Every time!” She announces in exasperation. “He’s still one of my favorite characters.”

“Still weird,” he mutters, nudging her with his toes.

She sticks out her tongue and turns back to the now-playing episode and he grins at the screen. This. He likes this. The familiarity, the comraderie. He’s never had this before as an only child. Sure he and Ollie were basically brothers, but there was always a distance. He had another family to go home to. Felicity’s like a little sister to him, or how he imagines a little sister would be. She’s family.

He settles into the couch and calmness embraces him. This...this is home.

... 


	4. Part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update: So there are actually going to be 6 parts!!! Yay! More words!! 
> 
> Thanks for all the support for this story! I'm so glad you guys like it!! 
> 
> And this is where there is the first noticeable divergence from canon. This chapter takes place around Chapters 1& 2 of "Once More". All you need to know is that in this version, Tommy doesn't get kidnapped with Oliver. 
> 
> Enjoy!!

**Part IV: Almost Two Years Later**

“What is it, Tommy? Tommy?” Felicity asks breathlessly as she races into his apartment. She ran straight from work as soon as she got the ‘911’ text. She told her boss she was going home sick, making some excuse about it being that time of month. It prickled her feminist values that her boss let her go when she hinted that that was her excuse. She hadn’t even had to actually say it out loud.

Her indignation was only outweighed by her worry over Tommy, so she let it go. For now.

She finds him slouched on the white couch, staring in shock at the phone in his hands. Felicity drops her bags and kicks off her heels to walk over and drop to the floor, hands coming to gently grip Tommy’s arms.

“Hey! What’s going on?” She whispers softly.

Wide eyes lift up to hers, but he still can’t find the words. Felicity moves the phone to the coffee table so she can better clasp his hands in hers.

“Come on, Tommy. Talk to me,” she pleads. He’s scaring her right now, sitting there so lifeless and frozen.

He gulps loudly and meets her eyes again, lips slowly spreading into a grin. “He’s alive.”

Felicity frowns, not comprehending the change. “Who?”

Tommy laughs, full of life once more. Joy practically radiates after him. He stands up, pulling her to her feet and into a hug. “Ollie! Oliver Queen is alive!”

Tommy’s joy is infectious. Felicity finds herself grinning and laughing along, until they collapse on the couch, even if she’s never met the man. He can’t stop smiling again as he sits there.

“What happened?” She finally asks as he calms down and she catches her breath.

“They found him stranded on an island in the North China Sea, according to Moira. He was picked up by some fishermen. He’s being flown back to Starling right now. He’s coming home!”

He pulls her into another spontaneous hug, seeming not to notice Felicity’s shocked stiffness at this turn of events. She never saw this coming. She’s happy for him, for her best friend, but at the same time she knows this means things are going to change.

Tommy steps back and frowns at her, resting his hands on her shoulders to maintain contact. “You better not be thinking what I think you’re thinking, Smoaky.” He scolds. “I’m not abandoning you. I promised, remember? You can’t get rid of me. This...well, it changes things, but not us. I’m bailing tomorrow because they’re having a family dinner at the Queen’s, but I’ll make it up to you.”

She smiles back at him, poking him in the chest. “You better, Merlyn.” She sinks back into the hug. “I’m happy for you, Tommy. You’re getting your best friend back.”

“Other best friend,” he corrects with a chuckle. He stares off into space and murmurs to himself, “He’s alive and he’s coming home.”

Felicity gives him an extra squeeze, blinking back tears, because she knows it won’t be intentional, but Tommy’s going to drift away. His best friend is back. It’s only natural.

She’s happy for him, really.

...

“Hey, Felicity, right?”                                                              

Her head jerks up from her coffee at the question and she smiles at the man, who’s smiles nervously at her. Dan’s been hanging out in the IT break room for the past couple weeks even though he works over in Applied Sciences. He cites “program issues” whenever anyone asks why he’s been around, but no one’s buying it.

“Yeah. And you’re Dan, the guy from Applied Sciences.”

He blushes and it’s kind of cute how he can’t make eye contact with her. “Uh, yeah. I guess I’ve been hanging here a lot lately.”

She nods, biting back a smile as she sips at her coffee. She can barely contain a moan as the delicious taste of coffee warms her taste buds. She must be more desperate for caffeine than she thought if the cheap swill they have in the break room tastes this good.

“Would you like to go to dinner?”

Felicity blinks at the question, confused for a moment, frowning. Did she drift off for a moment? Did she miss a segue? She feels off center right now. And not just because work is a mess today since news broke that Oliver Queen was alive. Queen Consolidated seems to be a jumble of nerves and craziness. With the higher ups distracted with the new press attention, there’s a Friday-afternoon feel infecting the office despite it only being Thursday.

And she definitely wasn’t expecting that question. That came out of nowhere.

“What?” She continues to stare at him like a freaking deer, but least she’s not babbling like a maniac. “Was that? Was that you asking me on a date? Because you sort of just blurted that out from out of nowhere. Literally out of nowhere. I didn’t see it coming. Aaaaaand that’s the babble I was afraid of.” She covers her face. “Oh, god. I’m just...I’ll just walk away now. And we’ll just forget this ever happened.”

Dan chuckles, smiling charmingly at her. His bashfulness has given way to confidence in light of her babble. “How about you say yes and we’ll call it even?”

With Thomas Merlyn as a friend, Felicity’s no stranger to charming men. Dan doesn’t have much on Tommy, but his confidence is attractive for sure. She can’t say they’ve had a ton of interaction, but she’s not seeing anyone currently.

Actually, the only serious guy in her life since Cooper has been Tommy. And that relationship is purely platonic. Sure over the past two years there have been others: Coffee Shop Cutie, the Lawyer, Doctor Hottie, Sex on a Stick, and a couple other flings Tommy didn’t bother to name. Because of _course_ he had nicknames for the people who came into her life. Although, Suzie in the cubicle over had come up with “Sex on a Stick”. Felicity was trying to get them to actually use his name (Jack) but then she caught him making out with a secretary in the staircase two floors down and the nickname stuck. And really, the sex wasn’t all that great anyway.

Dan, on the other hand, while he doesn’t look like he stepped out of a magazine, is cute, works in Applied Sciences – which is her dream job – and can hold an intelligent conversation without looking at her chest.

There’s a bet going around about who he was going to ask out: her, Louise, and Jerry. And Jerry was only on the list because Tom swore Dan was gay. Needless to say, Tom wasn’t winning this bet.

Felicity just smiles brightly at Dan. He already survived one of her legendary babbles, so the worst is over. She could use some company, and Dan seems like the kind of good guy a girl could fall in love with. So what’s the harm in saying yes?

“I’d love to, Dan. What did you have in mind?”

“How about tonight? Bertucci’s?”

Felicity’s gut reaction is to tell him she has plans, that asking hours before is hardly enough time to prepare for a date, but then she remembers that Tommy bailed on her for the Queens’. So this actually works for her. “That’s perfect actually.”

“And there’s no nuts there. You’re allergic to nuts, right?”

She smiles, brushing a stray lock of hair back from her face. “Yeah.”

“I remembered that from the last company picnic.” He answers her unasked question, looking away bashfully.

Felicity grimaces at the memory. There had been nuts in one of the salads and she had swollen up with hives for almost a week. That had been unattractive to say the least. “Oh, so you remember that...” There had been quite the scene when she realized and had to scramble for her epi-pen. Not to mention, the ambulance that showed up after.

Dan chuckles, hands in his pockets as he grins. “Yeah. That’s when I first noticed you. You were laughing with head thrown back and your hair gleamed in the sunlight. You looked so beautiful. I almost asked you out, but then there was that incident.”

She bites her bottom lip to hold back her grin as she looks away. This is the part she likes: the flirting and the cute shyness, the excitement that comes before a date, at the start of something that might turn into a relationship. Her heart is swelling, bubbling with joy at the feeling of being wanted. It feels good to be wanted.

“So, I’ll see you tonight?”

“Reservations are at 7. I’ll pick you up.”

Her eyebrows draw together. “You already made reservations?”

His nose scrunches in chagrin. “Wishful thinking.”

Felicity grins, patting him on the chest to relieve his anxiety in thinking he made a mistake. “I like a man who’s prepared.” She bobs up on her tip toes and presses a kiss to his cheek. “See you tonight.”

Once she rounds the corner, she fist bumps for successfully making it through the rest of the conversation without another babble.

Now she just needs to make it through the date...

...

He’s a perfect gentleman, the food is delicious, and the wine is sublime.

It’s actually a pretty fantastic date all around. It’s been a while since she had a true first date where she got wined and dined. All that getting-to-know-you talk is soothing for once.

And Dan says all the right things. It’s nice to be flattered. She feels beautiful and desired. It’s nice.

She’s already made it clear that she’s paying for her half of dinner, so there won’t be any of that awkward you’re-paying-for-the-date-so-does-that-mean-I-owe-you-something feeling hanging over her after dinner. There’s no strings attached here.

Not that she doesn’t like Dan. He’s nice enough and she might give this a try, but she’s not sure yet.

What she’s learned so far is that he definitely likes to talk about himself:

“...and that’s how I became the first president of my school’s Robotics Club. We were top rated in the nation.” His proud grin speaks for itself. It’s probably his greatest achievement. “That’s how I got into the Applied Science division of Queen Consolidated. I beat out thousands for this spot.”

If he’s looking for her to be impressed, he’s going to be disappointed. On the bright side, she’s no longer nervous and it’s curbed her babbling.

“So what did you do in college?” He laughs self-deprecatingly. “Wow, I didn’t even ask where you went or what you majored in!”

Felicity grins. “I graduated from MIT with a Masters in Cyber Security and Computer Sciences.” She could say at 19, but Dan seems like the kind of guy to be intimidated by a smart woman. Plus, that would sound like bragging and probably set him off on some other story. She also smoothly avoids the first question. Probably not a good idea to bring up hacking on the first date.

Dan whistles. “Wow! That’s impressive. You know, I had a friend who went to MIT for Computer Sciences. He said it was one of the hardest programs he’s ever been in. Then there was the huge thing his junior year where a senior got arrested for hacking into a government network. He said there was FBI there and everything!”

“Yeah. That was crazy.” She forces the smile to her face even as her stomach flips at the thought of Cooper and his suicide.

“So you were there for that? Must have been insane!” He watches her eagerly, baiting her for a story. It’s almost like he knows she was involved.

No. That’s crazy. She shakes her head and offers a small smile and a shrug. “All I heard was that it was some kind of hack.”

Dan nods vigorously, obviously happy to talk on the subject. “Yeah. My friend, Mark, said it was a supervirus and the kid used it to clear a bunch of student loan debt. He was a genius or something.”

Felicity smiles weakly. “Sounds like it.” Too bad the virus wasn’t his, and he committed suicide after taking the fall for her.

“It’s a pity though. All that potential wasted on criminal activity. Personally, I think it’s idiotic. There are laws in place for a reason. It’s our duty as citizens to follow the law and the police can handle everything else. Hacking is a massive invasion of privacy. Just think about what other uses a genius like that could be put too...”

Like working in an I.T. department, Felicity adds caustically to herself as Dan continues his rant.

So, he doesn’t approve of hacking. That’s hardly surprising seeing as he’s an ordinary, upstanding citizen. Besides it’s not like she hacks anymore...much. It’s only occasionally now, to keep her skills sharp. If she wasn’t sure before, she now knows Dan is a goody-two shoes.

Maybe that’s what she needs right now.

...

“I had a good time tonight.”

“Me too.”

Tommy’s head jerks up to bang solidly into Felicity’s door as he hears the voices travelling down the hall from around the corner. He recognizes her’s right away, but can’t place the other.

So she was on a date. That’s why she wasn’t answering the door or her phone.

His eyes roll up to the ceiling and he wishes he could disappear through the door he’s been using as his backrest for the better part of the last hour. So, now he’s a cock block. Great. Just another addition to his fabulous day.

After the events of Oliver’s kidnapping, he feels like he’s been torn to pieces and hastily glued back together before he could fully register the damage done. Oliver isn’t back two days and he gets kidnapped on Tommy’s watch. Hours later he’s found and everything’s alright. He didn’t get the chance to deal properly before it’s all said and done. He just feels emotionally wrecked.

He can only image how Oliver feels.

Of course, after that debacle, Ollie wanted to stay in tonight. Which leads him here, inadvertently crashing Felicity’s date.

“Tommy?”

He smiles up at her from the floor, unable to suppress the guilty smile as he slowly rises to his feet. “Hey.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Hi,” her date says with a forced smile. “I’m Dan.” His tight grip says he hoped this night was going somewhere else. It’s funny how that alone is enough for Tommy to dislike the guy.

“Tommy.” He turns to Felicity. “Things didn’t go that well today. I was kind of hoping you’d be here to talk, but you’re obviously busy.”

He nods reluctantly to Dan. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“No. It’s okay,” Felicity intercedes. “Dan was just walking me to my door. Thanks, Dan. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

They embrace and Tommy pretends not to notice the cold look thrown his way from her date as he waits around. He tries not to overhear the whispered conversation, but it’s hard not to overhear how eager he is to set up another date.

But before he can pry a promise from Felicity, she’s courteously ushering him away and unlocking her door to disappear inside with Tommy.

“Wow, Smoak! That’s harsh. Ditching a first date for another man!” 

She frowns. “I wasn’t ditching him.”

“Really? Because he looked like he was going to try to come inside.”

“Please. I’m not that easy.” Felicity snorts as she grabs herself a cup of water, silently offering one to Tommy but he shakes his head. She shrugs and kicks off her heels before collapsing into the couch with a groan.

Tommy joins her and they sit in silence for a moment.

“What are you doing here, Tommy?”

He sighs. “Oliver got kidnapped on my watch today.”

“Oh, Tommy!” Her comforting hand lands on his arm, squeezing it. “You know that’s not your fault, right?”

“Well, it sort of feels like it was. He...They grabbed him while I was talking to Laurel.” The words have to fight out of his mouth. It’s hard for him to voice these thoughts out loud. If only he hadn’t tried to patch things over with Laurel for Oliver’s sake.

“And if you had been there, they would have grabbed you too.”

“He just got back from five years on a deserted island and then this happened. How many bad things can happen to one person?” Because to him it doesn’t add up. It’s not right that Oliver has to go through all this. It’s not fair.

“But he’s okay now.”

Tommy nods, running an agitated hand through his hair. “But for those few hours, it was like he disappeared all over again. And it was a thousand times worse because we just got him back and we lost him again.”

And that’s the scary truth of the matter. He’s terrified of losing his friend again. And he doesn’t know how to cope with that.

...

He ends up crashing with Felicity after drowning his anxiety in more Doctor Who – which despite his complaints actually grew on him – until he falls asleep on the couch.

Felicity offers to take a sick day since she was working overtime as they updated the QC servers, but he turns her down, saying he’s got a party to plan and lunch with Laurel (which they aren’t calling a date because she just wants casual sex). But tonight he plans to drink. And he would love to do that with his best friend.

“I’m in. As long as we’re talking some decent booze. Fowler’s been up my ass at work,” she mutters mutinously under her breath.

He leans closer. “Tell you what, Smoaky: you get us dinner, I’ll bring the booze, and you show me those mad card skills.”

She purses her lips, contemplating. She’s refused to show him how to count cards countless times over the years, but with everything going on lately, she’s feeling generous. She hasn’t counted cards in forever, and she hasn’t really needed to since high school. “If you play your cards right, maybe...no pun intended. But it usually works better at an actual casino.”

“So, if I get you drunk, is there a better chance of you demonstrating your rumored skills?” He teases, wagging his eyebrows suggestively at her.

She grins, rolling her eyes at his antics. She walks backwards down the hallway to leave for work. “You’ll just have to find out.”

He finds himself smiling back as she disappears out the door. Challenge accepted. Tonight he’s going to find out just what Smoaky can do or if she’s bluffing.

...


	5. Part V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was told in a comment that reading Once More (From the Top) really helps with understanding. I've been told it makes a lot more sense, which will only be more true starting now. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like the chapter!

**Part V**

“TOMMY!” Felicity screams as she races after him as he reads the texts on the phone.

Somehow card counting turned into strip poker – she blames the alcohol. Long story short, that’s why she’s in her underwear, stumbling and giggling as she tries to catch Tommy before he can text Dan something embarrassing.

She manages to corner Tommy in the bathroom, but he’s on the other side of the locked bathroom door with her phone.

“Really?” Tommy asks through the door. “Is he sending you cheesy pick-up lines?” He snorts. “You deserve so much better than this idiot. ‘Your code is poetry’? What they hell does that even mean? Is that even romantic?”

She grimaces, crinkling her nose. It’s sort of romantic. It’s supposed to be, anyway. It’s really adorable for a nerd. Dan’s hot for a nerd.

“You need higher standards, Smoaky. He might be hot for a nerd, but I’m hot too. And god knows you’re turning me into a nerd. That raises the bar.”

“Crap. Out loud?” She asks, leaning her forehead on the cool wood of the door. Sometimes she doesn’t know why she bothers thinking if it’s just going come out of her mouth anyway.

“Yup,” Tommy confirms. Then a shout: “You’ve got another one!”

“Don’t you dare, Tommy!” She bangs her hand against the door futilely.

She can hear the frown in his voice as he reads the new text. “’Girl, let me hack your servers’? Who does this guy think he is?”

Felicity pulls a face. That...that’s just...wrong. Hacking implies getting something without consent. That’s just...ew.

“Did...was...” The confusion in Tommy’s voice is adorable. “Was that a booty call?”

Felicity leans against the door and slides down to the floor in annoyance, contemplating her situation. Dan’s cute and more than a little geeky if the texts are anything to go by, but getting booty-called after a so-so date...She’s not sure how she feels about that. Not that drunk her is a good gauge of her feelings anyway...

“Yup. That’s a geek booty call,” Tommy declares. “Should I tell him you’re with another man? A hotter man. Make him jealous? He seemed like the jealous type.”

Felicity snorts, turning to the door like she can see through it to Tommy on the other side. “You should...you should tell him ‘no’. Just no.”

“Wha?” Tommy asks, swinging the door open unexpectedly.

“Woah,” Felicity screeches as she falls backwards into the bathroom where she lies staring at the ceiling. She squints at Tommy. “Whatid you do that for?”

“No booty call?” Tommy blinks blearily down at her from where he stands. “I thought you liked this guy.”

She frowns at him. “Why are you so tall?”

He drops down to sit on the floor next to her in his own underwear and pokes her shoulder. “You are so drunk!”

Pushing herself up and turning herself around to frown at him severely. “ _You’re_ drunk,” she retorts intelligently. Felicity shakes her head to clear some of the fog. “But don’t tell him anything.” She points at the phone. “I don’t like booty calls.”

Tommy rests his head against the door frame, glancing at his hand and the phone in it. He nods seriously. “I don’t like him.”

“You don’t know him,” she counters.

“Don’t need to. I just don’t like ‘im. You don’t just booty call girls.”

She snorts. “What ‘bout Laurel?”

He shrugs. “That’s different.”

“Why?” She demands.

“Because _she_ calls _me_.”

“And you love her,” Felicity finishes for him, sighing. “You love her so you can’t deny her anything.” She turns to rest her head against his shoulder. “One day I’ll find a guy as great as you.”

“And until then, I’ll scare away the bad ones.”

“I don’t need your help, Merlyn.”

“Of course not.” He pats her placatingly on the head.

She nods harshly to reinforce her statement. “I can defend myself.”

Tommy chuckles and turns to press a kiss to her temple as he wraps her in a hug. “Doesn’t mean I won’t try to defend you, Smoaky.”

She hums contentedly, eyes drifting closed. She might even need to sleep for a few moments before Tommy nudges her again.

‘We should get dressed,” he whispers to her.

Felicity groans, shaking her head, sleepy from the alcohol now. “Why?”

“Because it’s one in the morning.”

“So? It’s bedtime.” She snuggles back into the pillow she’s made of Tommy’s shoulder.

“Maybe for you, but I should head home.”

Felicity blinks and takes stock of her state of mind. She turns to Tommy, stretching with a huge yawn. “You okay to drive?”

He nods, pulling himself to his feet and then reaching back to help her to her feet. “I’ll text you when I get home.”

Tommy moves down the hallway, pausing to pull on his pants from where they landed in a crumpled pile in the hallway. Felicity moves into her room to pull on pajamas instead of redressing in her clothes from earlier, grimacing at the thought of the mess occupying her living room. She knows there are dirty dishes and garbage, not to mention the cards from their abandoned game of strip poker and her clothes. She’s about to climb into bed and drift off into dreamland when she remembers the shirt she wore today.

She climbs from bed. It’s her favorite shirt and if she leaves it crumpled on the floor, it’s never going to be the same again. Her heavy eyelids barely lift as she stumbles down the hall. “Have you seen my shirt?”

“I think it’s behind the couch,” Tommy calls back, pulling it from the floor as he speaks, moving closer to the hallway. He passes her the shirt as she joins him, moving like a zombie. 

She nods slowly, obviously only moving through the actions without thinking. “Thanks.

“No problem. Go to sleep, Felicity. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

She nods, turning and trudging slowly back to her room as Tommy walks around turning off lights. He moves the dirty dishes to the sink and locks the door as he leaves, thankful to Felicity for letting him feel like himself again, unaware that in the alley his best friend is now in a crisis of his own.

...

“He’s not picking up,” Tommy mutters, clicking his phone off and turn to face the blonde tapping away at her computer. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was ignoring me.”

She glances over sparingly before going back to her programing. “I would be ignoring you too, if I could, Merlyn.”

He chuckles, wrapping an arm around her as he looks over her shoulder. “Aww, that’s so sweet, Smoak.”

“I don’t have to be doing this, you know?” She gestures to the algorithm on the screen. “You could actually hire someone to control all the lights you want.” She doesn’t have to help plan his “Party of the Century”. At the same time it feels nice to use her skills for something other than wiping viruses from company computers.

“But then your skills would go to waste, and we can’t have that.”

Felicity snorts as she shoots him a look.

He lifts his hands in surrender. “I mean, thank you for your graciousness, you beautiful Goddess of computers. I bow at the feet of you mercy and benevolence.”

She rolls her eyes at his pontification and wraps up her line of coding. She slides gracefully off the bar stool and surveys the hall as the lights start flashing in accordance with the program. Turning back, she clicks to the next song and the pattern shifts to fit with the music.

“And you have amazed me yet again, Smoak.” Tommy claps her on the shoulder, stepping around a running event crew member to walk to the middle of the floor. He spins to take in the space. “Just imagine it: the room full of partiers, lots of scantily clad women, drinks, and loud music. The perfect welcome home party!”

Felicity frowns, doubt evident in her eyes. “Are you sure it’s what Oliver wants?”

“Ollie and I were partiers. He has to come back with a bang. This was our scene. Queen and Merlyn: the Womanizing Playboys.” He can hear the self-deprecation at the title. It’s only here, when he’s talking to Felicity that it slips out.

“Yeah, but after years on a deserted island? Being around this many people? That doesn’t sound like a good idea.”

Tommy shrugs. “It’s part of the lifestyle. Besides, I think he’s looking for a girl.”

“A girl?” Felicity asks. “Laurel?”

Tommy hops onto the stage, shrugging off the thought like he doesn’t still have doubts about it. “He says no. He was talking about some ‘mysterious chick’.”

“A girl? What’s her name?” She joins him on the stage, leaning back to look at the lights and admire her handiwork.

“He didn’t say.” Tommy checks his phone again, like maybe Oliver suddenly managed to text him back.

“So a random girl he met before the Island...and throwing a huge party is your response?”

He laughs. He can tell she doesn’t get it, and it might not make sense to anybody else, but that’s how he does things. He throws money and problems. “Well, that’s how he would have met her before all this mess.”

“Well, what else do you know about her?”

Tommy chuckles. “Nothing. But he likes her. I’ve only seen him like that about Laurel, but he wasn’t talking about her.”

“Are you sure?”

He frowns, nodding slowly. “I wouldn’t have believed it – possibly still don’t – but yeah. He basically blew her off the other day. I think he’s serious about the other girl. But I don’t get it. If he was ever that serious about anyone before, I would have known. It makes no sense.”

He’s been wracking his mind, trying to come up with some idea of who the girl could be. So far all he’s done is ruled out Laurel and Sara. The list of girls pre-Island is extensive and he really doesn’t want to jump into that bottomless pit.

A laugh bubbles up as he stares up at the ceiling. “God! I don’t know what to do about it! I mean, I’m mostly just relieved he’s not going after Laurel. Does that make me a horrible person?”

Felicity snorts. “I don’t know if you _can_ be a horrible person, not when it comes to people you care about.”

“I just want him to be happy.” He sits back up, watching the DJ as he starts to set up his stand. “And now he’s not talking to me.”

He jumps off the stage and pulls out his phone. “Time to try again.”

He grimaces as he listens to the phone ring. He has no idea what he did to make Oliver ignore him, but he refuses to let his friend slip away like this. He’s throwing this whole party for him because that’s the playboy his friend remembers him as, it’s the only way he knows to reconnect with his old friend. He needs to get this connection back.

He doesn’t realize how bad it is until he hears a bright “Tommy” from the other end of the line.

“Dude! Have you been avoiding my calls?” He keeps his voice light, glancing at Felicity where she’s sampling food at the buffet.

“No. I’m just not used to carrying one of these things on me. Plus, this thing is nothing like the flip phone I used to have.”

The joking tone surprises a laugh out of him. That’s the man he remembers.

“Did you know you can get the internet literally anywhere?”

“I forgot how much everything’s changed in five years.” Which is impressive considering how much Felicity rants about new advances in technology on a regular basis. His eyes find the blonde again. Something’s still off with Oliver, but he might be able to help with this.

“Tell me about it. I can barely work my phone.”

“I know someone who can help with that.” Felicity’s eyes meet his and she starts shaking her head rapidly.

“Really?”

“Yup. Cute, blonde and standing right next to me.” She’s now waving her hand next to her neck, telling him silently to cut it out. He elects to ignore her and she fumes as she turns to walk away. “I can introduce you tonight.”

“Tommy! I told you I couldn’t make it,” she yells back over her shoulder.

“And I told you, you didn’t have a choice,” he calls back.

“I’m not going, Tommy.”

“Yes, you are.” He pouts, lip puffing out dramatically.

“Don’t make that face at me, Merlyn.”

“Come on, Smoak. You can’t say no. Do it for me. As a friend.”

She scowls, but he already knows that he’s won.  “Fine,” she acquiesces. “But you’re buying my dress.”

Tommy grins. “Deal. You are a goddess.”

Felicity rolls her eyes and he pulls out his credit card. She hesitates before she takes it and then says: “I’m getting shoes too.”

“I’d expect nothing less. Consider it a birthday present!”

Felicity sticks her tongue out as she collects her things and Tommy turns back to the phone.

“Just wanted to make sure you were getting ready. The hot girls are already lining up!”

“Tommy!” Felicity reprimands from across the room.

“What? They’re hot and he’s been stranded alone on an island for five years. I’m ready to play wingman, maybe hook him up with a hot brunette. Sound good, buddy?” He’s playing up the act and he can spot the sympathy in Felicity’s eyes.

“See you in an hour,” Oliver says over the line.

“Yup. I’d say don’t be late, but who are we kidding! See you when you get here!” He laughs jovially as he hangs up. The grin slips slightly, turning to Felicity. “Come on, we need to get you a dress and a pair of shoes.”

She lets him wrap his arm around her shoulders as they walk out of the hall. “Your interest in women’s clothes makes me question your sexuality, Merlyn.”

He laughs. “I just know how to appreciate a beautiful woman in gorgeous dress.”

...

The music is louder than she thought it would be, and she doesn’t appreciate the mass of gyrating sweaty bodies. There is no way for her to describe how much this isn’t her scene. There are far more women than men and all the guys are going for the far easier targets and loose women.

Tommy left her fifteen minutes ago to get Oliver. He said he was going to introduce them, but after watching his display for the crowds, she’s not sure she wants to meet him. She’s not sure how a man who was stranded on an island for so long could be so flippant about life. No, scratch that: she’s not sure she _wants_ to meet someone who could be so flippant about something like that.

Felicity sips on her fruity drink as she moves to the music.

Her phone goes off and she finds yet another text from Dan. He apologized earlier today for the booty-call, saying his drinking buddy sent it. She’s not sure she believes that, but she’s willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“How’re you doin’, Smoak?” Tommy practically screams in her ear just to be heard over the pounding music.

She starts as she pulls herself away from her phone and turns back to Tommy. She looks behind him for Oliver, who’s been by his side for the last hour, but finds him missing.

Felicity forces a grin on her face. “Did you finally wise up and decide not to introduce your nerdy counterpart to your cool best friend?”

She seriously doesn’t know what she’s still doing here. She wouldn’t have even come if she didn’t know it was so important to Tommy. But this party-crazy boy in front of her isn’t the man that she knows. The Tommy Merlyn she knows is emotional and passionate, caring and, okay, sometimes a little crazy, but he doesn’t go overboard like this anymore. If this party is any indication of the future, she’s not sure how she feels about that.

“He’s talking to Laurel.” Tommy’s smile slips completely from his face and he takes a rather large sip of his drink, eyes darting back to where Felicity guess Oliver and Laurel are talking.

She squeezes his arm comfortingly. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“I’m not so sure,” he mutters, worry lines settling into his face as his eyes travel back to the same set of doors.

“Listen, Tommy, I think I should be going.” She gestures towards the door knowing his attention is behind that door and what may or may not be happening on the other side of the door.

“What? No! Stay!” He whips his head around, grabbing her hand and pulling her back. “Please! Just for a little while longer. For me.” He doesn’t bother with the fake pout this time, which tell Felicity just how much he really needs her here. This whole Oliver/Laurel thing is really getting to him. 

She sighs, nodding and he immediately relaxes slightly. “Thank you.”

Behind him she sees the door open and an irate Laurel storm back into the party. “Well, you can stop acting like a kicked puppy. She’s back, without Oliver. But she looks pretty angry.”

Tommy’s head whips around so fast, Felicity wouldn’t be surprised if he got whiplash. “I’ll be right back. I have to go talk to her.”

Felicity takes another sip of her drink as he abandons her yet again. She sighs. She would have had so much more fun binge watching TV.

...

“I am so sorry!” Tommy grimaces as he runs back up to Felicity where she lurks against a wall.

“How’d it go with Laurel?” She’s deflecting, as he can clearly see. She’s not happy here. Her discomfort radiates off her, pushing away anyone who might come near. She stayed for him and he immediately feels guilty.

She’s amazing. She really is. He dragged her here to meet Oliver and he hasn’t been around his friend long enough to introduce him. But she still stayed. For him. He’s a terrible friend.

“Why don’t you head home? I’ll introduce you another time.”

Her head jerks up and he can see the relief in her eyes. “Are you sure?”

He grins. “Positive. Thank you for staying as long as you did.”

She hops up on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek. “Anything for you.”

He watches her weave through the crowd, sad to see her leaving. Laurel’s still around, but she’s giving him the cold shoulder. She keeps flitting away. Whatever went down with Oliver, it really got to her.

His heart aches as he finds Laurel in the crowd again. He had mentally prepared for the possibility that Oliver would still be hung up on Laurel, but he hadn’t expected her to still be hung up on him.

She’s relapsing. This was how she acted right after the Gambit went down, when it came out that Sara was on the boat as well. It got really bad for her. It was bad for all of them, but Tommy’s world feels unstable again: suddenly, it seems more likely that Oliver’s more over their connection than Laurel is.

Tommy runs a hand through his hair. He doesn’t know how to deal with Laurel like this. This wasn’t a situation he ever anticipated. He needs Felicity here with her sound advice, but he’s not going to drag her back to talk out his feelings. He’s already taken up too much of her time tonight.

“Hey! What are you doing all alone at the party?” Oliver claps him on the back, passing him a glass as he surveys the crowd.

“Where have you been?” Tommy asks. It’s not the question he intended to ask. He wanted to know if he was having fun.

He sees Oliver pause before he forces the dopey, playboy smile to his face. “I met a girl.”

Tommy reflexively smiles back, but this time he could see the lie in his friend’s face. But he doesn’t have time to ask because in the next instant cops are streaming into the room, breaking up the party.

He’s actually relieved.

He doesn’t remember parties being this stressful.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, I have good news and bad news.
> 
> Bad news (I always believe in giving bad news first): I probably won't be posting Part VI this week. Since we're officially caught up to the Once More story line, I'm going to wait until the next chapter there is updated before publishing the last chapter here. 
> 
> Good News: I'm editing Chapter 6 of Once More as you read this!!! So it should be coming quickly *fingers crossed* 
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter!


	6. Part VI

**Part VI**

Felicity’s not surprised that she doesn’t see Tommy for the rest of the weekend. He’s probably preoccupied with Laurel or Oliver. Maybe both. She’s sure it’s important, whatever it is.

What she did expect was to see him for their usual coffee on Monday morning at The Morning Brew. She taps her paper coffee cup on the table, glancing between the door and her phone, watching as it ticks down the minutes until she needs to be at work.

She checks her texts once again, seeing if he’s responded to any of her messages asking where he is. Agitated, she taps her phone against the wrought iron of the table. Contrary to popular belief, Tommy doesn’t sleep until noon and party all night, not any more. And he’s not answering her texts.

She can’t wait anymore.

With a huff, Felicity throws her phone into her bag and tosses the empty cup with a little more force than strictly necessary. This is the first step. Tommy’s leaving her to go back to his best friend. She always knew she couldn’t complete against the great Oliver Queen.

They grew up together. They have a bond she’ll never understand.

She flashes her ID to the security guard as she waltzes into Queen Consolidated, trying not to let the lack of Tommy Merlyn get her down. She would never hear the end of it if he knew him not showing up to their weekly coffee had the power to ruin her day. 

Felicity drops her bag next to her desk and falls back into her seat, immediately kicking off her panda flats and digging her toes into the carpet under her feet. The pile of work she had managed to clear off her desk on Friday has already been replaced by a new laundry list of jobs by someone who clearly doesn’t understand the meaning of a weekend.

She plugs in her tablet and starts sifting through the pile.

It looks like today will give a new meaning to the word suck.

...

Tommy’s leg bounces anxiously as he listens to Oliver’s account of what happened in the last five years, grimacing at the details as he hears them. Apparently, it’s one of those necessary evils when it comes to bringing someone back from the dead, legally speaking.

Personally, he doesn’t think his friend should have to relive the harrow experience of almost drowning.

But no one asked him. No. Instead he’s here listening to his friend talk about the worst experiences of his life. But he’s here to support Oliver.

“I can’t believe he had to go through that,” Thea whispers to him, squeezing his hand from where they sit in the gallery.

Tommy swallows thickly. “Neither can I.”

It explains what’s off about Oliver though. He knew Oliver had to go through some crazy stuff in the last five years, but hearing it described for him in this courtroom hits home in a way he hadn’t expected.

It’s not possible for Oliver to be the same man he used to be, because living on an island away from civilization must have changed him. Oliver was playing a part last night, just like he was. And he ignored it because that’s who they were. He and Oliver didn’t talk about feelings or anything serious.

That car ride through the city. That was the most serious they’d ever been with each other. And if he’s honest, it was nice.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Mister Queen!”

The judge bangs her gavel and the room erupts in noise. Thea and Moira rush to wrap Oliver in a hug. Tommy slaps him on the back, pulling him into a manly hug.

“Next stop is Queen Consolidated...” Moira starts running through her plans, which Tommy starts to drown out as he realizes its Monday.

Felicity. He completely forgot about their coffee meeting. Shoot.

He’s so preoccupied checking his texts, he almost doesn’t notice as they pass Laurel. As it is, she grandly ignores him, brushing past him like he’s nothing.

Oliver’s busy with his guard as they walk down the steps and Tommy really needs to go get an apology coffee and a muffin. Probably more than that.

He stood her up.

She’s not going to be happy.

...

How her day could get even worse, she had no idea. But it didn’t bode well when the first thing Suzie did was burst into her office and say:

“I heard you and Dan went on a date.”

Felicity groans and covers her face with her hands. “Where did you hear that?” She can’t even look up.

“So how was it? Where did he take you? Was it fun? Because don’t get me wrong but he seems a little...like a tool...” She plops into the seat across the desk and leans forward. “Are you going out again?”

“It...” Felicity sighs, leaning back in her chair. “He likes to talk. All the time. Mostly about himself. It’s like he has to prove he’s the smartest man in the room, which was kind of sickening. I mean, seriously! I barely opened my mouth the entire time. And men think women talk a lot.”

Suzie laughs and happily drops into the seat opposite her. “You? Didn’t talk? I don’t believe it!”

Felicity sputters. “I know, right! _I_ barely talked! Plus, I felt like he would be threatened by my intelligence. It’s so stupid! I don’t know why I do this, why I feel the need to dumb myself down for my dates. It’s so...Gah! You know?”

“Tell me about it! Anytime I start talking computer, a guy’s eyes glaze over. But I didn’t really expect Dan to be like that.” She chews on her lip. “So it didn’t go so great?”

How does she explain her date?

“It wasn’t...bad.” She shrugs, playing with a pen. “The booty call the night after...that was...”

“He didn’t!” Suzie gasps.

Felicity drops her head in her hands and cringes as she nods. “He claims it was a drunk friend, but I don’t know if I believe him. We’ve been texting since then and he seems really sweet. He wants another date and I don’t know if I should say yes or not.” She groans. “This is why I don’t date.”

“Do you like him?”

“I don’t know.” Felicity admits with a sigh, finally looking back at her friend. “I like the attention, but I’m not sure if I like _him_. Does that make any sense? Or did that only make sense in my head?”

“No. I get it. But I think that’s your answer.”

Felicity makes a face as she leans an elbow on the table. “And it would be wrong to let him wine and dine me just because I like his choice in wine, wouldn’t it?”

Suzie laughs. “Was the wine really that good?”

“It was better than the bottle I had at home. God, that made me sound like a terrible person.” She makes a face at herself. “Now I feel horrible.”

“Please, I’ve done far worse. In high school, I dated this jock for a couple weeks just because I knew it would drive my sister crazy. Granted, he was just trying to get in my pants, so I wasn’t too heartbroken over it.

“Then there was Brad in college. He cooked the most fantastic meals.” Suzie sighed dreamily. “It ended when I caught him in bed with his ex. No more soufflés for Suzie.” She pouts.

Felicity giggles. “Okay. You proved your point.”

“Besides, I don’t get why you would go for Dan, when you have Tall, Dark and Hunky always hanging around.” She wags her eyebrows suggestively and Felicity rolls her eyes.

“I told you: Tommy’s in love with someone else. Besides, he’s not my type.”

“Please, Honey, that man is _everyone’s_ type.” 

“Don’t let him hear you say that. His ego is big enough as it is.”

“Come on, Felicity! Can you honestly say you’ve never even thought about sleeping with the man?”

Felicity scrunches her nose. “I did kiss him while I was drunk one time, but that was it. Hey!” She glares at the other girl, rubbing her arm where Suzie just punched her. “What was that for?”

“You kissed him and you didn’t tell me? What was it like? Was he any good? I bet he was good. Damn, girl!”

She shrugs. “It was alright, I guess.”

“You guess?” Suzie gapes at her. “You’re unbelievable, Smoak! It’s a wonder we’re friends. You guess!”

Felicity stifles more laughter as Suzie leaves the room with an actual ‘harrumph’.

Suzie sticks her head back through the doorway. “Next time you kiss a billionaire, you better tell me.”

Unable to stifle her giggles any more, Felicity bursts out laughing. “Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure that won’t be happening again, like ever again.”

...

Tommy’s eyes dart from his watch to the long line at the coffee shop and back. At this rate, he might be better off just bringing her lunch. He is begging for forgiveness after all.

No. Today he’s pulling out all the stops because this is exactly what she feared most: She was afraid he would desert her when Oliver came back. He can’t let her believe that.

And why isn’t this coffee line faster?

...

Felicity barely glances at the email announcing that Oliver Queen will be visiting the company today. It’s not like it pertains to her or anyone else in the IT department. She’ll still be left to her typical jobs of removing porn viruses from the higher ups computers or other smalltime jobs.

She’ll be falling asleep in her pint-sized office in no time.

Except time drags on and she finds herself frowning at a program that needs debugging. She’s concentrating so hard, she doesn’t realize there’s anyone at her door until she hears a small cough.

She pulls the pen from between her teeth as she turns to face her probably very angry boss. Instead, her eyes lock on a set of blue eyes that threaten to drown her and she’s at a loss for words. She struggles to gather her thoughts so she doesn’t come across as a babbling, thunderstruck idiot.

While she’s floundering for words, the man steps forward with a grin as she realizes it’s not who she thought it was.

“Felicity Smoak?”

She nods, slowly, consciously shutting her mouth before she manages to embarrass herself any more than she’s sure she already has.

“Hi. My name is Oliver Queen.”

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this, we end the companion story! I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought in the comments! 
> 
> The next chapter of Once More - which ties in at the end there - will hopefully be posted within a week. So check that story out. 
> 
> And if you want, you can always find me on Tumblr:   
> Username: writewithurheart   
> Blog: War Against Reality 
> 
> Thank you for reading!!! You guys are awesome!!


	7. How Felicity's and Tommy's Friendship Works in Cannon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look at how Felicity's and Tommy's friendship could have worked in existing cannon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve received a bunch of criticism on Once More about Tommy and Felicity’s unexpected friendship. After the big Chapter 4 cliffhanger, I expected dubious readers, but nothing quite like the sh**show I found on fanfiction.net reviews, but that’s not what this is about so I digress...
> 
> No, there have been some complaints about how Felicity and Tommy could even be friends, and how it would fit in the cannon-verse. A valid question, one I attempted to answer in “Do I Look Like a Barista to You?” However, since that story morphed into the altered “Once More” storyline, there were some HUGE, gapping unanswered questions as to how and why that friendship could have gone unnoticed in the TV show. I’ve been trying to figure out about how to put my thoughts on to paper. I posted it on Tumblr and now I'm posting it here if you're interested.

**How Felicity and Tommy can be friends in Once More**

 

So, for all the curious readers out there, here are my reasons for _why_ their friendship could have existed off-screen:

1\. Season 1 focused on Oliver almost singularly. Any scenes not of him were integral to the plot or focused on Laurel Lance, which gave us a peek into her romance with Tommy Merlyn but not much else.

2\. Felicity wasn’t a main character, so our knowledge of her backstory is non-existent. Even in season 4 to date, we still have no idea why she chose a low-level IT job in Starling. For me, a close friend in Starling seemed like a good reason for her to pick that city over another one.

3\. The screenshot of Felicity’s number in Tommy’s phone. I’m a fangirl and I believe they would be friends, so I capitalized on an opportunity. *shrugs* It happens.

4\. Tommy knew Oliver logged into his email from China. How did he know that? Well, I just decided to have a little fun with those answers.

5\. Oliver is completely self-involved and mission-oriented in season 1. Even once Digg and Felicity join his crusade, his focus is singularly on stopping the Undertaking and checking names off his list. He wouldn’t have noticed a friendship at all, even if it were important enough to document in the TV show.

* * *

 

Additionally, this is _how_ I could see their friendship existing inside actual cannon:

1\. Events of “Do I Look Like a Barista to You?” up to Part IV.

2\. Felicity starts to grow apart from Tommy: he’s spending more time between wooing Laurel, and getting reacquainted with his best friend. She doesn’t blame him for spending less time with her, but the realization that their relationship has shifted prompts her to start exploring more job options.

3\. Tommy gets swept up in his new job managing Verdant. For once, it’s something he’s actually excited about doing. He still talks to Felicity, but now it’s once a week over coffee or on a weekend movie night.

4\. Just as she’s kicking off her job search, Walter comes to Felicity for help looking into some matters. Sure, she’s looking into leaving QC, but she still knows she’s an asset to QC. And maybe she’s channeling some of that pent-up frustration into her rant as she enters Mr. Steele’s office. And the problem he presents her with intrigues her, almost as much as the prodigal son coming to her with increasingly ridiculous excuses.

5\. Things with Laurel are going great (finally) and Tommy’s preoccupied with everything going on in his life, that Felicity starts to slip a little further away: a cancelled lunch date, a missed phone call, no more surprise visits. He went from having one really good friend to having a returned brother, a new job, and a beautiful girlfriend. And Felicity is just as busy. Their schedules never seem to line up, so it’s forgivable that they’re going longer and longer without talking...right?

6\. Felicity starts working with Oliver in the Lair and forgets about the job offers that have started coming in. It’s not that she’s not interested in the better pay, but the positions aren’t that much better than what she has at QC, and she’s attached to the people here, the city. Sure, it’s not Tommy’s friendship keeping here. No, now it’s Walter’s, John’s, Oliver’s, and the lives that they’re saving. They  _save_ people. She’s actively making a difference and that’s something she’s never had before. She’s challenging herself and finally,  _finally_ doing something that requires all her skills. And that is worth more than a bigger check somewhere else. It’s worth all the menial tasks and sexist comments at work, especially when she finally sees Walter reunited with his family.

7\. Tommy and Felicity only run into each other at Verdant once, which is remarkable when you think about it. She had just finished up a longer-than-usual (read: an all-nighter) fixing up her gadgets in the basement and he was coming in to receive a shipment that apparently “couldn’t be pushed any later”. He wonders why she’s there. He knows it isn’t her scene and she just babbles something about missing him and possibly hacking in to see when he was going to be here. It sounds a little fishy, but Tommy lets it go because he’s happy to see her. She waits for him to unload the truck, talking the whole time as she catches him up on some work shenanigans – avoiding the big, green secret in the basement – and then they go out for coffee before parting ways to go about their normal lives.

8\. Tommy’s life starts to fall apart soon after that. Laurel is keeping secrets, he finds out Oliver’s the vigilante, and his father is still acting like his father (which is to say a jerk). He can feel his life crashing in a downward spiral and he wants to reach out to the one person he knows will listen to him and talk him through anything. So he calls Felicity.

9\. Felicity knows what’s going on with Tommy...vaguely and only through Oliver’s grumbled explanations which she pries out of him after some very worrying texts and voicemails from Tommy. She doesn’t want to get in the middle of their weird love triangle. She was over those well before Twilight. She wants them to deal with it, but until then, she meets up with Tommy whenever their new schedules will allow it. Since he’s actually working a 9-5 job, it gets a lot easier to plan lunch meetings.

10\. Tommy comes to her after he sees Oliver and Laurel through the window. He doesn’t explain anything: he just shows up at her door in the middle of the night with an open bottle of wine and a pint of mint chip. She just lets him and they get drunk while watching cheesy romcoms.

11\. Felicity leaves before he wakes up the next morning. She makes it through a whole day of work before she gets arrested and then it the world ends. Well, it doesn’t actually ends, but it kind of feels like it’s going to in the Glades with the threat of the Undertaking looming over them. As they race to stop it, Felicity misses the texts she gets from Tommy.

12\. Tommy’s 98% sure Felicity’s nowhere near the Glades so he’s not too worried about her. But he’s 100% sure Laurel’s still in CNRI. He knows it’s a risk going there, but there’s no choice to make. He’s been in love with Laurel far longer than he’ll even admit to himself, and he can’t just walk away when she needs him, even if she’s crushed his heart. In the end, knowing that she’s safe is enough that he slips into that eternal sleep without regrets.

13\. Hearing Tommy’s last words over the comms are the worst moments of Felicity’s life. She breaks down right there in the Foundry with the world shaking around her and debris falling from the ceiling. When the tears dry up enough for her to see the computers in front of her, Felicity disconnects the comms before curling herself into a ball on her chair and crying all over again. She knows he would be happy Laurel’s alive, yet she can’t help but curse his good heart for trying to rescue a woman who spurned him. She can’t deny she would do the same thing for someone she loved. Hell, she might even do that for a perfect stranger. That was what Team Arrow did, after all. She might only work the computers, but she was part of the team. She just can’t believe her best friend is dead.

14\. Felicity stands next to Oliver at the funeral. He’s too wrapped up in his own grief to see hers, too stuck in his own doubts and self-recrimination to notice he’s not the only one who lost their best friend. She knows before he leaves a couple days later that he’s planning on running. She knows because that’s what she did once upon a time after Cooper’s death. She ran to someone familiar: Tommy. It took his familiar presence to make sense of what had happened. So she vows to do that for Oliver. She’ll let him have this. She’ll let him grieve in his own way until she’s fixed the basement of Verdant. That’s his deadline. And then she’s bringing him home. Because this city still needs them. And she’s not giving up on it just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you still have doubts/questions/gaping holes in my reasoning, please ASK ME! I welcome any of it!


End file.
